General Challenger

  • Ethanol Fuel Mixtures

    The question frequently comes up, “Are E10 and E85 fuels harmful to my engine?” Here is everything you wanted to know about the chemical compound ethanol that is added to gasoline. Ethanol is used as an “oxygenate” and is added to fuel to help reduce hydrocarbon emissions that cause air pollution. It is highly refined beverage (grain) alcohol, approximately 200-proof, that can be produced from natural products such as corn, sugar cane and wheat. New technology allows ethanol to be made...
  • Mufflers

    Since the beginning of hot rodding, enthusiasts have tinkered with their car’s exhaust system, particularly the mufflers, to get the “right sound.” A muffler’s job sounds easy enough- reduce exhaust volume to tolerable levels while allowing the sweet sounds of your ride to waft through the air. But this becomes a monumental task as horsepower increases. Engines build horsepower by pushing spent exhaust out of the tailpipe as fast as possible. As pistons furiously churn, exhaust velocity...
  • Challenger- Concept to Production

    The planning and design of the Challenger concept car started in 2004. At that time, Chrysler’s Pacifica Studo was given the assignment to work with the exiting LX platform (i.e., Charger, Chrysler 300 and Magnum) to develop a 2-door, rear-wheel drive concept car. Many of the designers were musclecar guys and a new Challenger was proposed to be built around the 6.1 Hemi engine. There was a lot of conversation as to how much retro design features should be built into the car. Based on a...
  • History and Applications of Carbon Fiber

    Carbon Fiber is a polymer and is sometimes known as graphite fiber. It is a very strong material that is also very lightweight. Although carbon fiber is five times stronger and twice as stiff as steel, it is lighter than steel; making it the ideal manufacturing material for many parts. These are just a few reasons why carbon fiber is favored by engineers and designers for manufacturing. Carbon fiber dates back to 1879, when Thomas Edison baked cotton threads or bamboo silvers at high...
  1. Using a power washer on an auto finish can't be a good idea?

    See this fairly often. Not something I would attempt. What do others think?
  2. What is a CVT Transmission?

    Some say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But the innovative continuously variable transmission (CVT), which Leonardo da Vinci conceptualized more than 500 years ago is now replacing planetary automatic transmissions in some automobiles. Since the first Toroidal CVT patent was filed in 1886, the technology has been refined and improved. Today, several car manufacturers, including General Motors, Audi, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan, are designing their drivetrains around CVTs. Cars with...
  3. What is Hydroplaning?

    The term hydroplaning is commonly used to refer to the skidding or sliding of a car’s tires across a wet surface. Hydroplaning occurs when a tire encounters more water than it can scatter. Water pressure in the front of the wheel pushes water under the tire, and the tire is then separated from the road surface by a thin film of water and loses traction. The result is loss of steering, braking and power control. Rubber tires have tread (grooves) that are designed to channel water from...
  4. Why a manual transmission is better than an automatic

    Still not quite sure how to post an article yet, but Finally: Why manual transmission is better than an automatic [URL]https://tremec-blog.com/10-reasons-a-manual-transmission-is-better-than-an-automatic/[/URL] Not so long ago, it was widely accepted that a true performance car had a manual transmission. In fact, some performance cars were only available with a manual transmission. Well, in the great age that is the 21st century, things have changed. Now the beloved third pedal is being replaced with...
  5. Why Do Hemi Engines Have Dual Sparkplugs?

    Each cylinder on a Hemi engine has an ignition coil pack over one spark plug, and a regular plug wire connected to the other spark plug. Further, the coil pack also has a plug wire attached to it that extends to the opposite cylinder bank. Each cylinder shares a coil pack with another cylinder. Each of the two plugs on a given cylinder is fired by a separate coil. One plug has a coil directly attached, and the other is fired via an ignition wire connected to a coil located on another...
  6. Wind Tunnels

    When most people think of wind tunnels, an aerospace tunnel usually comes to mind. This helps designers and engineers understand how aircraft will behave during various flight conditions. Automotive wind tunnels are usually very similar to aerospace tunnels, but they often feature a rolling floor that lets test engineers simulate a car driving on the road at various speeds. What are Wind Tunnels? Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the...
  7. Featured

    Windage Tray

    Most of us know about windage trays, but what is their function and what exactly is “windage?” Simply put, windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object. Windage loss is the reduction in efficiency due to windage forces. As it pertains to internal combustion engines, windage is the power loss caused by the friction of the oil in the engine coming into non-lubrication contact with its internal moving parts. For the most part,...
  8. Window Tint

    Window film (a/k/a, tint) is a thin laminate film that can be installed to the interior or exterior of glass surfaces in automobiles. It is usually made from polyethylene terephthalate due to its clarity, tensile strength, dimensional stability, and ability to accept a variety of surface-applied or embedded treatments. Window films are generically categorized by their construction components (dyed, pigmented, metallized, ceramic or nano), by their intended use (automotive, marine or...
  9. Featured

    Windshield Dots

    The small black dots on a car windshield are called frits, which are black painted enamel that’s baked onto the surface of the glass. Modern cars have a windshield bonded to the frame. He described how the windshield is bonded using a strong and long-lasting urethane adhesive, which makes the windshield a structural component of the vehicle’s body. The frits “provide a secure point of contact between the glass, urethane adhesive, and windshield frame. Essentially, the small black dots help...
  10. World's Fastest Hellcat

    When Dodge introduced the Challenger Hellcat back in 2014, it claimed that in stock form with the automatic transmission, it could cover the quarter mile in just 11.2 seconds. With drag radial tires, the time could be reduced down to the 10.80s The first Hellcat owner to break into the 10-second range was Jay Gustafson, who ran a 10.997 a few years back, making his Challenger the quickest stock Hellcat car in the world, but Canadian racer Jim Benko recently ran a 10.937, on November 11,...
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